Does Working Out Make You Taller?

Exercise is one of the most important aspects of overall health and wellness. Not only can it help you manage your weight, but it has also been linked to stronger bones and muscles, both of which have an effect on height and stature.

But does that mean that exercise/working out can make you taller? Let’s explore that in this article.

Before delving into the effects of exercise on height, we first need to talk about the factors that determine a person’s height potential.

While individuals grow at different rates, height gain usually ends at 16 years in males and 13 years in females. After puberty, hormonal changes cause the epiphyseal cartilage (growth cartilage) that lengthens the bones to harden and ossify, stunting the growth process.

When that happens, there is really not much one can do to increase their height. As such, adults should shift their focus from achieving height gain to preventing height loss that comes with aging. This calls for maintaining proper bone health, which exercise is believed to facilitate.

Because the majority of a person’s height potential is determined by genetics, there is no evidence that exercise can help increase height in adulthood. But it can increase bone mineral density, boost the production of growth-inducing hormones, and improve posture, all of which help prevent age-related shrinking.

A study that compared 957 females and 1,088 males between 35 to 55 years of age found that participants who engaged in aerobic activity showed attenuation in height loss compared to those who did not engage in physical activity.

So while exercise cannot help increase height, it can improve bone mass even during adulthood, which counters spine compression and leads to slower stature decline.

Certain types of exercises are more effective than others when it comes to preventing height loss. If this is your goal, you should focus on doing weight-bearing compound exercises, resistance training, posture-correcting exercises, and flexibility training.

Osteoporosis, a condition that weakens the bones as we age, affects over 10 million Americans. Another 44 million are reported to have low bone density, which causes rapid height loss as they age. Compound exercises have been used to help counter the effects of osteoporosis.

Compound exercises are movements that target more than one muscle group and typically involve heavier forms of lifting. Exercises like weight-bearing squats, overhead presses, and deadlifts can increase bone density and stimulate muscle growth.

If you don't have access to a gym, you can do bodyweight pull ups which are a classic compound exercise that can be adapted to suit your experience level.

Compound exercises put stress on the bones and force reparative cells to take action to build stronger and denser bones, which keeps bone health at optimal levels during adulthood.

Resistance training uses external resistance to cause the muscles to contract, increasing strength, power, and hypertrophy. This can include the use of free weights and weight machines, resistance bands, or simply a person’s own body weight.

Studies show that resistance training is a good form of therapy to counter the loss of bone and muscle mass. It helps stimulate osteogenic effects, which are important for bone mass accretion and preservation.

Proper posture can go a long way in helping you appear taller by reducing slouching and compression of the vertebrae.

Exercises like yoga, planks, jump roping, hanging, and isometric movements target key posture areas like the hips, lower back, shoulders, and neck, allowing you to reach your true height and stand up to 2 inches taller than normal.

While flexibility exercises do not make you taller, they can loosen and elongate your muscles, which in turn allow you to improve your posture and performance.

Incorporating flexibility training into your workout routine is as easy as doing stretches before weight-bearing exercises or practicing yoga and pilates.